Apple Car reportedly shopping for the eyes of its autonomous driving
Apple’s autonomous car project is hunting for the well-rumored EV’s eyes, a new report suggests, with the iPhone-maker said to be in discussions with multiple LIDAR specialists. The scanning technology is widely – though not universally – believed to be key to building vehicles that can drive themselves, given its ability to map an environment, in real time, and in great detail.
Multiple companies develop LIDAR sensors currently, for automotive and robotics use, among other purposes. Apple has also used the same core premise of the technology for its own custom sensors, the so-called LiDAR Scanner that launched on the iPad Pro and later appeared on the high-end iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Now, Apple is currently speaking with multiple sensor companies, Bloomberg reports, quoting insiders familiar with the negotiations. Talks are still ongoing, it’s suggested, and Apple is not yet believed to have picked a likely LIDAR candidate. Whichever hardware